It got pretty cold in Tampa this week! At least, it did for John Zettel, CEO of integration pro AVI-SPL, who became the latest industry member to accept the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
First we thought it would be a fad. Then we thought it would only touch the edges of our industry, but remain something we could watch from afar—from our warm, dry homes and offices.
But as we’ve come to see over the last few days, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has evolved from a passing social media trend to, well, an epic social media trend… that is spreading like wildfire across the AV industry.
You know how it works: a person either dumps a bucket of ice water on his or her head, or donates to an ALS charity, or both. They then nominate three people to do the same. Last week, we saw Crestron’s Jeff Singer take the challenge, and over the weekend our own Ray Lyons, publisher of Commercial Integrator, did the same.
And it’s not all for naught. As of Wednesday, August 27, the ALS Association had received $94.3 million in donations compared to $2.7 million during the same time period last year. These donations have come from existing donors and new donors, all 2.1 million of them.
We have to congratulate AVI-SPL CEO John Zettel for stepping up and accepting the challenge. He was nominated by AVI-SPL’s Community Relations Board, which manages the company’s volunteer efforts and community outreach. Zettel says he will support the cause with a personal donation, as well as a donation from AVI-SPL for $20 per every employee who accepts the challenge.
Watch Zettel get soaked—for a good cause:
He nominates Randy Klein of Crestron Electronics, Chris Duncan of The Dow Chemical Company, and Don Mastro of AVI-SPL, as well as each and every member of AVI-SPL. Good luck to them all! It looks pretty cold, even in Tampa, Florida!
